by F. T. Lukens
Darby stood from the table. “Right. Thanks for the food.” She shoved a few extra pieces of bread on her plate and picked it up. “I’m going to eat in my quarters. Let me know when we reach Echo drift.” She paused at the doorway. “I thought you all were different, but you’re just like everyone else. Out for themselves. Good luck with your brother, Ren.” And then she left.
Ren sighed. He pushed his fingertips against his closed eyes. The pressure felt good in contrast to the budding headache in his temples.
“We’ll be disembarking on Echo too.”
Ren dropped his hands and stared at Asher. “What?”
“We don’t have time to argue. They’re moving Liam, and we have a small window if we want to get to him.”
Ren’s throat closed. “Okay. We can do that.”
“If that’s what you want.” Rowan’s palms were flat on the table top. Her shoulders were tense; her green eyes glittered.
“I’m coming with you.” Ollie pushed his plate away. He raised his hand to silence Penelope’s inevitable protest. “You’re my sister, and, if it were you, I wouldn’t hesitate. I’m going to help Ren and Asher and make sure they come back.”
Lucas’s face was paler than normal. “You should get ready then. We’ll be there in a few hours.”
Guilt weighed heavy on Ren. He was the catalyst. He was the reason Asher was captured. He was the reason Liam sat in a prison. He caused the crew to fracture.
Ollie nodded and stood. Asher followed, and Ren pushed his chair back from the table. “Thank you, and I’m sorry.”
Rowan didn’t respond. She pushed her food around her plate. Lucas put his arm around Penelope’s shoulders and squeezed.
Ren turned on his heel and followed the others out of the common room.
* * *
They approached Echo drift. A heavy solemn stillness pervaded the ship, and Ren couldn’t help but feel responsible. Guilt weighed on his conscience, though he couldn’t own Rowan’s stubbornness or Asher’s passionate assertions. This wasn’t the first time the siblings had butted heads and it wouldn’t be the last. It might be the most significant, especially if Asher’s planned assault on Perilous Space prison ended badly. Ren didn’t want to consider that either, and he focused on the ship’s approach to the spinning metal microcosm in front of them.
Standing on the bridge, Ren watched through the vid screen as the drift became larger. Next to him stood Asher. In her captain’s chair, Rowan sat: back straight, legs crossed, looking like a queen on a throne.
“You can change your mind,” Asher said, voice low, head pitched toward Rowan.
“So can you,” she replied.
Asher let out a sigh. “I’ll contact you when we’re done. Until then, lay low. I don’t know how long we’ll be.”
She nodded. Casting her glance to Ren, she forced a smile. “Take care of them. Make sure they all come back.”
“I will.”
Lucas adjusted the goggles on his head, then pushed a few buttons on his console. “Automated docking engaged.”
Asher stepped toward the view screen. “Anything weird?”
“Everything is as normal.” Lucas spun in his chair. “Ren?”
Furrowing his brow, Ren reached out through the sensors, vision shifting to blue. The drift’s many systems spoke to him, all running at capacity. Most importantly, there was no sickly-sweet churn of his stomach, or cold uneasy prickle over his skin. Ren pulled back to the ship. “It’s fine.”
“Good.”
“It’ll be a few minutes,” Lucas said. “I’ll let you know when the seal is complete.”
“Thanks.”
“It was good to have you back, Ash,” Lucas said in an uncharacteristic moment of seriousness. “We’ll see you again soon. I’m sure.”
Ren and Asher left the bridge. Asher hesitated at the exit, but when Rowan didn’t make a move to stop them, he sighed and followed Ren. They walked in silence down the corridor, their shoulders brushing.
Ren and Asher had packed their bags and stacked them by the aft airlock. Ren shrugged into Asher’s drifter jacket and tugged it close around him. He flipped up the collar and rubbed his cheek on the fabric, finding comfort in the sensation and the smell. It grounded him, and he’d need that leaving the Star Stream, the ship that had welcomed him and became his home in a way that only a technopath could understand.
Ollie and Darby waited for them in the bay. Darby had had nothing when brought on board, and now only had the few things Penelope had given her. Darby hadn’t said much since the confrontation in the common room. Ren didn’t know her plans. He doubted she’d go with them.
Penelope was there as well. She handed Ollie a bag. “There is medical glue and tape, antiseptic, and bandages in there just in case.” Ollie took it from her hands. She smoothed the collar of Ollie’s shirt. “You make sure you pick a reputable ship. Check the registration and last drifts visited.”
Ollie raised a dark eyebrow. “No reputable ship is going to take us where we need to go.”
She chuckled nervously. “No, I guess not. Well, pick a ship and a crew you can easily overpower if needed.”
Darby stroked her chin, her expression contemplative. “Huh. That’s not bad advice.”
“You could always ask Darby to steal one for you, too.” Penelope grinned, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Her gaze cut to Darby, who leaned against the airlock. ‘I’m sure she’d do it, if not for any allegiance, but for the thrill.”
“Aw.” Darby placed her hand over her heart. “You know me so well and only after a few days too.” She shook her head. “But I don’t think I’m sticking with your gang. Assaulting a prison full of career soldiers with magic-wielders as prisoners? No thanks.”
Ren was inexplicably sorrowful at Darby’s words, but it was expected. She’d been caught up in their lives by accident. He couldn’t blame her for going her own way. It seemed to be her nature.
Ollie frowned and turned away from Darby. He focused his attention on Penelope and wrapped his hand around her fingers. “We’ll be all right. We’ll contact you when we’re done. Take care of Rowan.”
“I will.”
Penelope and Ollie hugged. Then Penelope grabbed Asher and Ren in succession and squeezed. Ren winced from the force of her hug. “I’ll see you soon.” She wiped the moisture from her eyes and stepped away.
Lucas’s voice came over the comm. “Pressurization completed. Have fun, you four.”
Darby was the first out of the airlock. Ollie was quick to follow. Asher lingered.
“Are we making the right choice?” Ren shuffled close to Asher’s body. “We could wait until Liam is moved. Trust that he contacts us again. It might be an easier location to—”
Asher clasped Ren’s hand. “It’s taken us this long to know where he is. He’s important to you. He’s obviously important to the Corps. Retrieving him isn’t only serving a purpose for you, but takes away one of the Corps’ ways of finding information. And if he’s there, think of who else might be.”
Ren leaned into Asher’s side. “Rescuing my brother is going to start a war.”
“The war is already started.”
Asher squeezed Ren’s hand then departed the ship. Ren followed, fingers curled tight around the handle of his small bag.
The docking bay’s large outer doors to the drift were closed. A small doorway off to the side was ajar. Asher walked through, hefting his bag higher on his shoulder.
Ren cast a last glance to the ship that he called home in more ways than one. His heart ached. He’d miss the systems and the circuits, and he hoped he’d traverse them again.
With a slump of his shoulders, he went through the door.
It shut behind him, obscuring the Star Stream, and bathing the drift floor in a wash of dim yellow light.
Ren squinted and stopped sh
ort.
A group of soldiers in black body armor waited for him. One held a struggling Darby and had guns trained on both Asher and Ollie.
“Welcome to Echo drift,” the tallest one said, stepping forward, resting his weapon on his shoulder. He smirked. “There’s been a change in management.”
8
“Help! Help! I’m being kidnapped! Again!” Darby kicked out with the thick heel of her boot and caught one of the soldiers in his shin. He cried out, dropped his weapon, and grabbed his leg as he hopped up and down. Darby smirked but she wasn’t let go. In fact, her wiggling and fighting made another soldier grab her other side.
Asher zeroed in on the pulse gun, which clattered to the ground, but he couldn’t move before it was swept up by another guard.
“Quit squirming!”
“I’ll stop when you tell me what the stars is going on!”
The four were clad in black with body armor and helmets reminiscent of Vos’s citadel soldiers who had taken Ren from his home. But those soldiers wore scavenged armor and shabby equipment. These guards were polished and equipped with tech that pinged in Ren’s senses with power and capability. Ren didn’t sense any snares or hiccups in their comm system or in the power emanating from their prods and pulse guns. There were no bastardized components or systems holding together by spit and will. Vos had upgraded exponentially.
Standing just on the other side of the large, closed doors that led to the bay of the Star Stream, Ren sensed the lowering of the forcefield barrier. His connection with the ship stretched as it left the hangar, and lessened as the distance between them grew. He bit his lip to hide his distress at the loss of his home. He blinked, and the thread which bound them snapped, and tears gathered in the corners of his eyes.
Asher nudged him, and Ren shook the turmoil away, packed it down inside, and focused on the situation in front of him.
The drift was dim, but not shut down like Phoebus. Ren looked up to see blank communication boards; the overhead system remained quiet. But the grav and air recyclers hummed. The essential systems ran on minimal power, but all the superfluous ones were shut down, possibly to conserve energy. Ren wasn’t afraid that all the system would fail as he had been on Phoebus. This seemed deliberate. He searched out Millicent’s signature, and, though he caught remnants of her and his stomach churned at the sick caress of her power against his, she wasn’t there now.
The tension that had twisted his insides slowly eased. He was still standing at pulse-gun point, but soldiers were easy compared to her.
Ren glanced at Asher and found him staring down the small group with his gaze laser-focused on their weapons. Asher narrowed his eyes, assessing, and his hand drifted over to Ren. He placed his palm on Ren’s forearm and shook his head slightly. Ren took that as a signal to wait and not reveal himself. He hadn’t planned to, not without knowing more information, but Asher’s agreement was a reassurance.
“Who is the new management?” Asher asked, voice calm.
Asher’s voice startled the soldiers, and their weapons snapped up. “Hands up where we can see them!”
Ren dropped his bag at his feet and reluctantly raised his hands as did Asher and Ollie.
“No problem.” Asher pointed to Darby. “Please release our friend.”
The leader was taller than the others. His words exuded confidence, but his body language lacked the marks of a career soldier. He didn’t hold himself like Asher. He didn’t move like Asher. But it didn’t mean he wasn’t dangerous.
“We’re only holding her because she tried to run as soon as she saw us.”
Ollie’s eyebrows shot up. “Wouldn’t you?”
“Everyone has to be processed when they enter the drift. We’ll release her if she promises to stay with you.”
“She does,” Asher said, cutting Darby off. He glared at her, and she snapped her mouth shut. She shook her head so black and purple hair sprayed over her forehead and cheeks.
“Fine!”
They dropped her, and she scuttled across the small gap between the groups. She situated herself slightly behind Ollie and next to Ren’s shoulder.
“Now,” Asher said, hands still raised, “answer my question. Who is the new management? Who do you represent?”
“We represent the planets under the divine guidance of our leader, Millicent, Mistress of the Stars.”
Shock hit Ren full-force. He staggered back. “What the coggin’ what? Millicent?”
The soldier who previously held Darby lit up at her name. “Do you know her? Isn’t she amazing? She took over this whole drift in seconds.”
Another spoke up, grin wide under his face shield. “She touched my arm once.”
Ren gaped, mouth working uselessly. Not only had Millicent somehow supplanted Vos, but her soldiers were… groupies.
Asher asked. “How long was I gone?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been asleep.”
“Hey, stop talking.” The leader jabbed his prod under Ren’s ribs, dangerously close to his wound.
Ren recoiled, and Darby stepped in front of him. “Hey, don’t be a cog. We’re not resisting.” She sighed, then amended. “Anymore. Not resisting anymore. We’re not going to resist. Okay?”
Ren inhaled shakily. The prod brought up memories of his capture, of watching Jakob killed by Vos’s trained army. The poke was too close for comfort to his wound. And Millicent’s name carried its own weighty connotations of fear and manipulation. Panic hovered close, but Ren steeled himself, gritted his teeth, and took a few deep breaths. He ducked his head into the collar of the jacket he wore, but even with its familiar smell and fabric, he shivered, and his skin went clammy. He had Asher with him and Ollie, and, despite her questionable allegiance, Darby was there too. He’d be okay. He’d be okay. He’d be okay.
The soldier shifted and dropped the tip of the prod. “All new visitors to all of our leader’s empire must be processed. Those are the rules.”
Asher stiffened. “What do you mean processed? Who are you looking for?”
“Phoenix Corps, mostly, and any known traitors to the cause.”
The leader elbowed the speaker. “They don’t need to know that. Only the basics to civilians, remember?”
The soldier bowed his head, effectively cowed.
Ren and Asher shared an incredulous glance.
“Is there anyone else on your ship? The registry was blocked when you docked.”
“A pilot,” Asher confirmed. “But he already left. He shuttled us from Phoebus.”
The leader nodded. “Good. Phoebus was the first of the leader’s new empire. You will be familiar with the new protocols on Echo as well.”
“Right. See, we’ve already been processed on Phoebus. So, we shouldn’t have to do it again.” Darby smiled, bright and wide.
“Do you have your badges?”
“Oh, we left them on the ship. I didn’t think we’d need them here.”
“Too bad. But if you passed last time, then no worries here.”
Darby mouthed an expletive.
The comm on the leader’s shoulder crackled. “We have another ship docking in bay seven, slip two. No one has disembarked yet, but ship has three registered passengers that will need to be processed.”
The leader responded. “Send Bravo Team to the slip. We’re bringing four to the processing center right now.”
He nonchalantly rested the tip of his prod on Ren’s sternum. His finger slipped close to the trigger. Ren’s whole body tensed; power automatically surged in his middle. He trembled and resisted the impulse to cut the power or to turn the weapon against the soldier.
The voice came back over the comm. “Acknowledged.”
“Come along then,” he said to the group. “No more stalling.”
The end of the weapon slid down Ren’s body, caught on his shirt, then dropped
away. Ren let out a stuttered breath.
Millicent’s army moved with surprising precision as two took the lead in front of Ren and the other two swooped behind them. With a pulse gun at his back, Ren stumbled forward. Asher caught his arm, steadied him, gripped tight; his mouth was pulled down. Ren shook his head and straightened. His stomach roiled. His heart pounded. His throat tightened. But he held on, took Asher’s hand in his and squeezed back, taking comfort in the sensation, grounding himself with physical contact. It helped.
The soldiers marched them through the drift. Asher stayed close to Ren’s side. Darby and Ollie closed in around him as they navigated the corridors and passageways.
Clustered together, Ren dipped his head. “Do any of you have a plan?”
“Not yet,” Asher said through gritted teeth. His jaw clenched. His gaze darted around the drift, taking everything in. The corridors they walked were empty save for soldiers. The vibrancy usually found on drifts had been either snuffed out or regulated to certain areas.
“We don’t have a lot of time,” Ren said. “You’re a birdman. They’re going to figure that out.”
“Well, I’m pretty sure you’re a traitor to their leader’s cause. So yeah, we’re cogging crunched.”
Darby tripped forward and caught her balance on Asher’s shoulder. “What are we going to do?” she whispered quickly.
“We?” Ren asked. “I thought you weren’t sticking with us?”
“Better with you and freaky science-magic that I trust than freaky science-magic from a person I’ve not met. Worse yet, a person who you seem scared of. And that scares me.”
“She doesn’t scare me,” Ren muttered. “She concerns me.”
“She’s terrifying,” Asher said. “She literally cares about no one other than herself. And I want to know what happened to Vos. He might not be the leader, but he’s still around I’m sure.”
“Without Abiathar to control her…” Ren trailed off. That was it. Without someone who could control her, she’d broken the hold Vos had over her. She’d gone rogue. She had deposed Vos and taken over his army for herself and turned them into zealots following a higher power. Vos wasn’t behind Phoebus or Echo. It was Millicent.